This was one of those books that I was extremely excited for, only to have the audiobook put me to sleep and make me unable to concentrate. I might pick this up in physical form though!

This was only a relatively short audiobook, but I was really quite looking forward to it - and it didn't disappoint! I have difficulty finding non-fiction texts that really interest me, but space is something I've been fascinated by since I was young. I mean, who doesn't love the stars? Who isn't intrigued by the prospect of an infinity of universes, countless planets, possibly even other lifeforms? It's such an endlessly miraculous thing, and we will probably never truly uncover all of the secrets that space has to hold.
This book contained information on the history of space, as well as nautical travel and aviation. Cruddas describes various elements of the so-called 'space race', and includes details of the dozens of lives lost in the conquest of space travel. She also goes on to talk about the current progress being made, and the possibilities of the future. However, she acknowledges that many of us may never really see much of space in our lifetimes; any advancements made now may not benefit this generation, or even the next, but may lay the path for future astronauts, astronomers, and even the general population.
It is safe to say that listening to this audiobook rekindled my old love of space. I found it so inspiring; even though we are so small, insignificant, even, the thought of what lies beyond the stars is just incredible. Cruddas described it wonderfully, with plenty of information included. And who knew the story of space was so emotional? I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it!

I thought this was going to be more about space and the stars, but it is actually a deep dive into the socioeconomic forces that go into space exploration and subsequent effects of humans exploring space. It would have been an interesting book to read as a book - not audiobook- (I might not recommend it though), but the audiobook quality was not top-notch and the narrator’s voice sounded quite scratchy and tinny, and could have been more gentle and soothing.

It took me a long while to get into the narration. I can’t explain precisely way, maybe it was a bit too fast, but I didn’t find it very enjoyable. As for the content, I tend to agree with other reviewers: I was expecting something broader in scope than a mere chronological history of space travel. While some passages (notably about women astronauts) were interesting, I didn’t feel like I learnt an awful lot. As another reviewer said, Look Up might serve as a good introduction to space travel for teenagers, but not much more.

Look Up is less "Our story with the stars" and more our story with the technology that gets humans out there. This wasn't what I was expecting so I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to. That being said, if you are looking for the history of space exploration condensed into a digestible few hours of listening then this is the audio book for you. Sarah Cruddas' career in journalism and TV presenting clearly shines through in the content and performance of this audio book and her passion for the subject almost makes you want to visit space yourself.

This book is not what I expected. I was expecting more about astronomy, but instead got a lesson in space exploration and the race to the moon. I really enjoyed learning about something I hadn’t really researched or spent time thinking about. There was a balance between the facts and evoking empathy for the people who gave their lives for space exploration. I always enjoy when the author is the narrator.
Many Thanks to #netgalley for gifting me the audiobook of #lookupourstorywiththestars in exchange for an honest review.

This book is fact-packed. Sarah Cruddas is clearly respected in the world of space travel as the foreword by American astronaut, Michael Collins, illustrates. She begins by outlining how she became so interested in space and space travel and the rather unusual route she took to end up working in this field. She takes the reader through a timeline of space travel as well as considering many different aspects of this risky business. I found it fascinating to hear how difficult it was for women to get involved and also the stresses and strains the lifestyle had on the families and how these were kept well hidden from the public. Another aspect that was briefly touched on, was how many of the people who have had the privilege to see earth from space changed their perspective on life forever. Listening to this as an audio book, narrated by the author herself, it felt like listening to a long lecture. While it was full of detailed information, and well researched, I found it quite dry. Thank you to Sarah Cruddas, Net Galley and HQ publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was enthralling as Cruddas portrays the magnitude better of space and just how small we humans on Earth really are. The blurb had me waiting to hear all about the stars and satellites above us, and the journey of how we travelled to explore them, but it focussed mainly on our journey to space.

Cruddas spends a lot of time telling you about the key people involved in getting humans into space; right from the controversy of using Wernher von Braun’s expertise first nurtured by the Nazis, to Neil Armstrong’s famous words “....one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. So it was a great history lesson, leading you into the new space race; space tourism.

It was wonderful and impressive to have the foreword by Michael Collins!
The book started off quite inspirational, learning about how motivated the author was to learn about astronomy and inspiring me to do my own learning. However after the foreword, intro and prologue, it's quite a while before you get to the actual book. Then it was quite factual and I found the book very dry to read.
I really tried but I couldn't finish this book. The style will probably appeal to some people but it was too dry and flat for me.

**listened via audiobook**

This book is not what I expected. I thought it would be more based on the stars, and possibly astrology. Yet the book focussed primarily on the moon landings. It is something that I am intrigued and interested by, but I didn't think I would enjoy an entire book about it. I was wrong!

Immediately I loved the fact that the author narrated the audiobook - I always like that!!

I learnt a lot!!! I didn't realise how many fatalities there were in some of the landings. I didn't realise about all of the 'fails' - and it was incredibly emotional and really quite shocking. I feel that it is something that really isn't spoken about. (and i really think it should be - due to the fatalities, and the 'mistakes' we have learnt so much about everything!!)
That is definitely the thing I will take away most about the book.

I listened to this as an audiobook and it was fairly short for an audiobook – it was kind of like listening to a long podcast episode.

It was... it was ok. The foreword from Michael Collins was really beautiful, however everything after that was just fine. It worked well as a 101 introduction to the history of space travel, however I was a bit disappointed to finish the book and realise that I don't think I learnt a single new thing from it.

Probably a good gift for a space-inclined teenager, and definitely interesting if you know little of the history. But if you already know the basics, you probably won't get much out of this one, unfortunately.

2.5 stars, rounded up.